Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-02-04
ANEW FIELD FOR NOYELISTS.
A Chicago Romance that May Be Studied With
Advantage By Writers of Fiction.
New York Herald.

New York Herald.
Some years ago Mr.. H. c. Bunner,
| wrote a suggestive open letter to the
Century on New York as a Field for
Fiction" American novelists will hail
with Joy indisputabls evidence that the
star of literary empire is duly taking its
way westward, and that the newest field
for fiction is Chicago. The Queen City
of the West comes forward with an imme-
date and satisfactory solution of the
most absorbing literary question OF the
day. The contest between the novel of
incident and the novel of character Is
watched with intense interest by writer's
| and readers.
Whether we are to have stories which
shall depend for their value upon ingen-
ious plots or psychological studies whose
aim shall be to analyze the spiritual. effect
of one nature upon another is the sub
ject of the chief literary doubt of the
| present time.
Chicago comes forth with a splendid
settlement of the trouble. We are to
have both at once. We may possess a
| literature of incident and of character
combined, and we are to have new char
acter. Give a gentleman of anar" hist be-
lief and woman of superior intellect,
| who finds that the-e is an overwhelming
spiritual affinity between them and that
they must marry, what is to prevent the
story ending in an unhappy complication
and a widespread scandal? Chicago says
that the deux ex machina is simply the
sheriff.
The entrance of the sheriff into the
field of action is as impressive as 1t was
unexpected. Here is character with all
the..mysterious reserve power of the aged
| Ram Lal and the modern front and bear
| ing of Lemuel Barker. 1t seems hardly
necessary to point out how admirably
the material of this Chicago romance
adapts itself to the wants of the writer's
of fiction.
What better study of human motives
could Mr.. Henry James desire than he
could make in novel to be called "The
| Chicagoans," with Spies, Miss Van Zandt
and the sheriff as his central figures? Mr..
Howells could pick up his gray goose
scalpel and lay bare the soul of the would
be bride in "a Chicago Woman's Reason"
Mr.. Cable could make delightful study
of lovemaking in dialet through the wire
netting of jail, and Mr.. Bunner could
leap gently up to the climax through q
series of semi historical chapters under
some such title as "The Story of Lake
| side House" Brander Matthews, could,
perchance unable to leave New York,
skillfully reproduce the universal
comment of representative society
through the mouths of his perennial fav
| orites, Dear Jones, Baby Van Rensselaer,,
and the duchess of Washington square.
AS for English novelists, they will GER
tainly do we'll to turn their attention to
| this prolific subject Mrs. Besant could
produce an absorbing tale, full of blood
| thirsty and beerthirsty anarchists, under
some such tale as THE World Goes
Very Queerly There" and Mr.. William
Black could return to the full power of
his early days in "The Strange Adven-
lures of a Marriage License" But I'M
doubtedly the browning work of this sub
juct would come from the pen of this
great genious, Robert Lows Stevenson,
under the title of "The Anarchists" in
which Miss Van Zandt would form strik
ing parallel to the hayward Claro in "The
Dynamiter," and the urbane but potent
Sheriff Matson would wholly overshadow
his Invariably Serene Highness Prinbe
Florizel of Bohemia. 1t is to be hoped
that all writer's of fiction will turn their
eyes westward, for there can be no longer
any doubt that Chicago, like Bunthorne,
is charged with more innocent amuse-
ment than the casual spectator would
imagine.